Fast Food trend petering out? Diners turning to healthy Quick Casual dining
As fast food restaurants see anemic growth, other healthy food, smaller restaurant chains are seeing significant increases as American eating habits (and demographics?) shift significantly according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Meanwhile, the emerging category of "quick casual" restaurants, including chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill (majority-owned by McDonald's), Cosi and Panera Bread -- are attracting more customers. As many as half of fast-food patrons eat at such chains, which generally have higher-quality food but still no table service, says Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president at Chicago food-consulting firm Technomic Inc. Quick-casual customers spend about $6 to $8 per average check as opposed to fast food's $3 to $4 average check, Mr. Lombardi says.
NPD Group Inc., a Port Washington, N.Y., research firm, found a surprising trend among quick-casual consumers. Industry experts had assumed the category attracted aging baby boomers who could afford higher costs, but in fact, quick-casual concepts appeal largely to 18-to 34-year-olds. About 37% of fast-casual customers are in this age bracket -- a demographic that typically consumes the most fast-food.
"I'm spending more money to stay healthy," says Maggie Thaxton, 27, a Chicago teacher who frequents Quizno's Subs, a unit of Quizno's Corp., Denver. The closely held upscale sandwich chain has about 1,800 U.S. units where sandwich prices are between $4 to $7.
The current price wars mean that McDonald's (with about 22 million customers daily) is out to attack Burger King as lethally as possible since it is already struggling and the Texas Pacific Group is having second thoughts on buying it out at the earlier agreed to price. And,
The fast-food chains say they are also offering healthy options such as salads, baked potatoes or yogurt. In September McDonald's said it would use different oil to reduce the transfatty acid levels in its fried foods. Earlier this year, Burger King introduced a veggie burger. "Dumping the obesity issue on fast-food is completely missing the point," says Burger King spokesman Robert A. Doughty. "People don't only eat fast-food. They eat at home or white-table cloth dining. We as Americans tend to look at quick scapegoats."